County's lawyers to defend Lovick against recall bid

EVERETT -- Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick can count on legal support from county attorneys when he fights a recall attempt filed against him last week.Recall paperwork submitted to the county Auditor's Office Wednesday accuses Lovick of failing to investigate alleged harassment of Anne Block, a Gold Bar attorney and blogger. Block maintains that county employees have been targeting her.The County Council voted 5-0 on Monday to authorize county lawyers to defend the sheriff, ruling that the recall allegations involve official work duties.Under state law, a Superior Court judge must determine that a recall petition has presented sufficient evidence that, if true, would constitute misfeasance or malfeasance in office. Only then can a recall advance to the signature-gathering phase.Block last year filed recall petitions accusing County Executive Aaron Reardon of using county resources to support his 2011 re-election campaign, activities that would fall outside the scope of his official duties.Block dropped the effort after Reardon announced that he intends to resign May 31.Lovick appears to be the frontrunner for the appointment after Reardon's seat becomes vacant. The county Democratic Party must select three nominees to forward to the council, which gets to make the final decision.

Calendar

Share your comments: Log in using your HeraldNet account or your Facebook, Twitter or Disqus profile. Comments that violate the rules are subject to removal. Please see our terms of use. Please note that you must verify your email address for your comments to appear.